Shoulder strap construction



Nov. 21, 1944. H. M. PLEHN SHOULDER STRAP CONSTRUCTION Filed July 25,1942 INVENTOR Mar/7% P1 5/ Patented Nov. 21, 1944 l U E STATES A Theinvention relates to a novel shoulder strap construction for brassieresor other bust-supportingundergarments, slips,and the like garments orgarment supporting adjuncts utilizing a pair of straps to suspend thegarment from the shoulders.

' An object of the invention is to provide an improved construction forsupporting a brassiere or slip from the shoulders of the wearer by meansof shoulder straps which are entirely free to move with respect to eachother, the entire shoulder strap supporting structure being constitutedof a substantially single length of taping secured at its extremities tothe bust supporing pockets of the brassire or the equivalent frontsection of a slip, passing over the shoulders of the wearer and thenalong the back section of l the bodyencircling portion of the garment.

Amore specific object of the invention is to provide a shoulder strapconstruction in which a single length of shoulder strap material isdivided into two sections, each of which acts as ashoulder strap, thetwo sections, however, being integral at the back of the garment andbeing maintained in such position upon the wearer as to cause anequalizing slidingor floating control of the length of each shoulderstrap section, and thereby permit free bodily movement of the wearerwithout cutting, binding or dropping of either shoulder strap in thecourse of such bodily movement.

The primary effect of my novel construction of garment and shoulderstrap arrangement therefor, is that the respective sections of thetapeconstituting the shoulder straps are permitted to be readily taken in totake car of any necessary inequality in the length of either section ofthe shoulder strap in the course of bodily movement of the wearer.

the person again assumesan upright position, there being a slack in theshoulder strap, it is ineffective to bring th bust again back to itsproper position without some manipulation of the shoulder strap to takeup the slack therein or of the bust.-

Aside from the disadvantage of the, inability of the shoulder strap whenthus slackened, to effectively control the bust positiomthe shoulderstrap upon any such bodily movement, involving a bending andtherefore adropping of one shoulder becomes so loose asltofall away from the:proper positionthereof upon or across the'shoulder. Thisdisorganization of the shoulder strap position is true in the case of aslip. Such a movement,-disorganizing, inthe case of a brassirelikefrontsection of a slip, the proper positioning of the shoulder strapupon the shoulder and of the bust itself, has no effect, in theconventional structures of the prior art, upon the other shoulderstrapor breast ofthe wearer. In otherwords, in the prior art structures, ifone shoulder strap became slack or tight, there was no equalizing actionto compensate ,for the slackness orttightness of such shoulder strap,and a difierence in l the positions of ,the wearers busts was inevitableA marked disadvantage of all brassieres constructed in accordance withthe prior art, whether or not they embody elastic sections in theshoulder straps, is that when thewearer of-the brassiere moves out ofthestrictly erect position of her body, for instance in bendin down orcarryingout some task or activity involving bodily movement, theshoulder straps get out of position,necessitating a readjustment to theirefiective supporting position upon the wearers reassuming theuprightposition. Thus, when the downward movement of one shoulder takes place,

for instance if the wearer of the brassire bends down to pick up anarticle, the shoulder strap necessarily: becomes slack and the bust onthe side toward which the downward movement of the shoulder takes place,tends to drop. When l upon the resumption of v the normal, erect,position of the wearers fl It is the object of my invention {toaccomplish such an equalizing action of the two shoulder straps. Iobtainthisfobject by utilizing virtually a single strap havingftwo sections,each effective as an:individual shoulder strap, but the two sectionsbeing joined together and constituting a single length of material whichis positioned over the shoulders and across the back of the brassierewithout any restraining anchorage of anyportion thereof. The novelarrangement effects the equalizing action by a simple sliding oftheshoulder strap material inthe manner of a. pendulum.

The principle characterizing my novel construc tion is that the entirelength of material, constitutin the shoulder strap sections and thelength of material joining such sections, is supported in a freefloating movement by a pair of guid members attached to the rearportions of the brassire at approximatelythe point where each shoulderstrap section terminates} By the utilization of this floatingarrangement of the shoulderstraps, the effect isaccomplishedthat as oneshoulder is dropped; the shoulder. strap'sections are permitted tomovevery much in the manner of a of: the wearer, a readjustmentof theshoulder x mm r struction in which equalizing action; Fig. 3 is anenlarged element of my novel shoulder strap construction,

- slots.

, bust back to its original position. r I am aware that'the problemwhich mynovel construction of brassiere is designed to solve has otherwords, as one bust drops upon the ment running substantially parallel toits angu larly disposed lower edge. The guide elements 18 are secured tothe back sections of the brassire by the passage of the elastic stripsI6 and I1 through the slots I9. I

In the particular embodiment of my invention illustrated, the shoulderstrap .tape I3 is intertwined in and through the guide element, for

free sliding movement therein, in nearly, but not quite, right-angleddirection by having the tape first passed through the slot I9, thenupwardly been recognized by those'skilled in the art, but

such attempts as have been made toward a solution of the problem havebeen ineffective.-,"I'he primary reasonfor this failure is-that theworkers in the prior art have not recognized the necessity ofmaintaining a floating position of a single strip of materialconstituting both shoulder strap sections with the intermediate sectionbeing per-' ;mitted to slide.

One particular attempt at the solution of the problem isillustrated by aconthe shoulder straps are led through a guide point or points at theback of the brassiere, but this construction fails in effecting thedesirable control which my construction accomplishes, by reason of-thefact that the shoulder straps in such prior construction are fixed at apoint or points eitherin-the front or in the back of the priorart-garment.

' iA specific embodiment of my invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a view ofa brassier econstructed in accordance with my invention, 'lookingfat the brassirefrom its back;

"Fig. 2 illustrates the position of my novel construction of brassiereupon the body of the wearer, showing the manner of its accomplishing andetail View of the guiding and the manner of its securement to thebrassiere body; and

Fig. 4 is a section through the guide element,

showing the passage of the shoulder strap material through the variousslotted openings thereof.

Referring more particularly to the drawing,in which similar referencecharactersidentify similar parts in the'several' views, thebrassierecomprises two bustsupporting pockets 5 and 6 of any conventionalconstruction and-two back members 1 and .8 secured to the back edges ofthe bust supporting sections. One of the back sections is prov videdwith a non-elastic strapB having a plurality of eyelets Ill, any one ofwhich is capable of being engaged by a cooperating fastener element Hsecured to the free end of .an elastic strap 12 extending from theopposite back section 8,

My novel shoulder strap construction is con- .stituted of a singlelength of material l3 of con- 4 ventional taping which has its ,freeends pass through an adjusting member l4 ofconventional construction,attached to the ends of tapes l5 secured to the upper extremities of thebreast supporting pockets 5 and'B. ."To each of the backsections 1 and 8is secured, by elastic members l6 and H, a guide element l8 which may bepreferably formed of Celluloid, cellulose acetate, or any similarcomposition material which has die-cut therein :a plurality of The'guideelement I8 is preferably .of a configuration suchas is shown in thedrawing, in which the lower edge thereof is at an angle of approximately45 to the vertical axis of the ele- .ment, with two slots 19 and .20provided .in the elethrough the slot 20; then down to beneath theelement through the slot .21 and again upwardly element.

The single length of shoulder strap material or tape l3 has thus threedistinct sections, although all are joined in an integral strip. Thesesections are the'right and left shoulder strap sections 23 and 24 andthe substantially horizontal section 25 which extends between'the twoguideelements Is at the back of the brassiere.

The operation or functioning of my novel shoulder strap arrangement isbest illustrated in Fig, 2

Looking at the back of the wearer, asthe-left shoulder drops, theshoulder. strap section 23 becomes slack. By thecorresponding tighteningof the right shoulder strap section 24 by the raising of the rightshoulder of the wearer, there will be a movement of the shoulder straptape 13 as a whole from the left to the right. This is per-- mitted bythe passage of the shoulderstrap tape l3 through the slots of the guideelements I8, the shoulder strap tape movin downwardly through the slotsof the left hand guide element and upwardly through the slots of theright hand guide element. In Fig. 2 the equalizing movement of theshoulder strap sections is clearly illustrated by the movement of thejuncture points .25 and, of the tape 13 which are purposely illustrated,

" the former downwardly and the latter upwardly.

These juncture points are of course not essential ,and the tape l3 maybe made of a single length .of

material but it is thought that the functioningof the floatingarrangement of the shoulder straps will be made clearer with the aid ofsuch illustration.

Again referring to Fig. 2., it will be noted-that in the absence of themovement downwardlyof the back portion of the shoulder strap :section23, 1

the left bust pocket, as the left shoulder faces or twists downwardly,would ordinarily drop from its proper position and become loose,-IIowever,

by reason of the taking up of the slack in the shoulder strap section 23by the corresponding movement upwardly of the shoulder strap ;s'ectio-n24, the bust pocket position is controlled and maintained substantiallyconstant, and the bust is prevented from dropping. When the shouldersare again straightened out upon resumption of the erect position by thewearer, the shoulder strap tape I3 will again move, but this time intheopposite direction through the guide elements t8 and the two busts ofthe wearer will be thus maintained in equalized position. F The floatingmovement of the shoulder .strapsections '23 and 24, when the bodilymovementof the wearertakes place, will also prevent the cutting,bin-ding or displacement of the shoulder straps from their correctposition overlying the upper crest of the :shoulders. .i i i imovementof the wearer.

The functioning ofmy inventive structure can also be clearly madeevident from the utilization of the small elastic strap l2 in the backof the brassire. Ordinarily, the use of such a small elastic sectionhasno effect upon the proper positioning or movement of the shoulderstraps. With my arrangement, however, the shoulder strap tape l3, as thesmall elastic section is extended during inhalation, is still permittedto accomplish its floating movement through the guide elements l8, so asto permit maintenance of the correct positions of the shoulder strapsections over the shoulders of the wearer, even in a twisting bodilyWhile I have described a specific embodiment of my invention, it isobvious that various modifications therein may be made, particularly inthe arrangement and configuration of the several parts, withoutdeparting from my invention. For instance, while I have described andillustrated a specific form and configuration of the two guide elementsl8, it is obvious that various other forms for such guide elements maybe utilized, including the use of a single guide element structurehaving, however, adequately spaced guides,

as shown, for changing the, direction: of the tape with a minimum offriction and without binding.

Also, ordinary rings or rectangular wire elements,

or guide elements having flat interior channels may be used, althoughthe excellent results which I secure by the specific embodiment of myinvention illustrated may not be attained by such simpledevices. Also,while I have illustrated my improvement specifically as applied to abrassiere, it may obviously be utilized in any body-encircling shoulderstrap-supported undergarment, and also in a shoulder strap arrangementfora garment supporting structure such as a pair of suspenders.

I claim:

1. A brassire comprising a pair of bust-sup porting pockets, a pair ofback sections forming part of the garment and adapted to bedetachablysecured together, a single shoulder strap tape having its end portionssecured to said pockets, and a pair of horizontally spaced guideelements for said tape secured to said back sections, said guideelements being made of relatively rigid material and beingsmooth-surfaced to create a a minimum of friction, each element havingslots r angularly disposed toeach other through which the tape isthreaded, saidtape being turned in the substantially flat conditionthrough approximately 90 in passing through each guide element, the

tape passing over the left shoulder to the left guide element, then tothe right guide element and then over the right shoulder, whereby tapeis readily taken in between one shoulder and its corresponding guideelement and simultaneously a paid out between the other shoulderv andits corresponding guide element as the relative position of theshoulders changes, so that the bust pockets remain in snugly bustsupporting position during various movements of the shoulders.

2. A brassire comprising a ,pair of bust-supporting pockets, a pair ofback sections forming part of the brassiere and adapted to be detachablysecured together, and a pair of guide elements smooth-surfaced and eachhaving an approxifor said tape secured in spaced relation to said backsections, a single shoulder strap tape threadedthrough both guideelements and passing over both shoulders and secured to the pockets, theguideelements being so spaced that the sections of the tape from theshoulders to said elements are approximately parallel, each of saidguide elements comprising a flat member made of smooth-surfaced,relatively rigid material" and having a plurality of tape-guiding slots,one of C said slots being disposed at an angle of approximately 45 tothe vertical axis of the member, and another of said slots beingdisposed at ap proximately a right angle to the vertical axis of saidmember, whereby the tape enters the guide elements in the substantiallyfiat condition and in passing through said slots is given anapproximately rightangled turn in the direction of its cured by elasticstraps to the back sections of the brassire.

5. A shoulder strap structure for supporting a garment from theshoulders of the wearer, comprising a tape having approximately verticalsections passing over each of the shoulders, and horiz'ontallyspacedguide elements for said tape permitting relative lengthwise slidingmovement of the tape therethrough, and guide elements being made ofrelatively rigid material and being mately horizontalslot and anangularly disposed slot through which the tape is threaded, the anglebetween the angularly disposed and horizontal slots beingapproximately45. 6. A brassire comprising a pair of bust-supportingpockets, a pair of back sections forming part of the garment and adaptedto be detachably secured together, a single shoulder strap tape havingits end portions secured to said pockets,

and a pair of horizontally spaced guide elements for said tape securedto said back sections, said guide elements being made of relativelyrigid material and being smooth-surfaced to create a minimum offriction, each element having slots angularly disposed to eachotherthrough which the tape is threaded, the shoulder to the left right guideelement and then over the right shoulder, whereby tape is readily takenin between one shoulder and its corresponding guide element andsimultaneously paid out between the other shoulderand its correspondingguide ele-\ ment as the relative position of theshoulders changes, sothat the bust pockets remain in snugly bust-supporting positions duringvarious movements of the shoulders, the guide elements for the tapecausinga change in the direction of movement of the tape of slightlymore than HENRY M. PLEHN.

tape passing over the left guide element then to the 1

